Mites and/or Lice

[gregfez]

My New Hampshire Red, has a problem with feather loss back by here rearend, she's almost completely bare back there!! She does pick at the area lately, she is still laying every other day and seems to eat well. Sometimes she has pretty runny poop, is this a sign of lice or mites? What can i do to help her out?

 

[CarriBrown]

She could be your rooster's "favorite" girl, which would cause the feather loss. Or, have you ever seen anyone else pick at her?

 

[gregfez]

There is no rooster. I'm just afraid because she was with another chicken who recently died, but the cause of death is uknown. The last chicken began to lose her feathers all over her body and looked very scraggly. At first, I thought that she was molting, but she eventually became weak and was clearly not doing well, although it did not take long for her to die. I thought she would bounce back, since she appeared so healthy weeks before. I'm just a little worried that this current chicken may have caught something from the previous one.

 

[bigzio]

gregfez,Welcome to BYC, souunds like you could very well have a vermin problem.

If that is the case they need to be eliminated. They can cause a good deal of blood loss eventually killing your birds. Check your birds after dark, inspect the fluff on the underside of the bird especially the vent area, look closely for little red or light brown little crawling things,that would be mites, lice are brownish yellow eaiser to spot because they are larger. Dusting the birds and allowing them to self dust in a dust bath will take care of the problem. Feed mills or farm stores can help you with different products. If this is your problem.

bigzio

 

[gregfez]

Thanks, I thought maybe that could be the problem, I will at leat give it a try, I don't think it can hurt. Thanks so much for the information!!

 

[Barnyard Dawg]

Quote:
If you see tiny red or light brown insects that look like spiders crawling on chickens skin they are body mites, during the day mites live on perches & nests. Setting hens on nest are a prime target for mites.
For treatment dust your birds with insecticide powder/DE and clean out coop to discourage the parasites from coming back. Sprinkle insecticide powder/DE into all cracks, crevices. Use only a powder approved for poultry. Contact a feed store and inquire about Dri Kil.
Leg mites: If the scales on chicken’s shanks are raised instead of lying smoothly they are leg mites, they burrow under scales. They can be quite painful and cause the chicken to walk stiff legged. To control leg mites once a month, brush perches & legs of all your chickens with vegetable oil.